(ATTN: UPDATES with comments from former DP leader in 9th para)
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) — President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday reinstated the civil rights of former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo under Liberation Day special pardons, enabling him to run for public office despite objections from members of the ruling party.
The pardon was endorsed by Yoon after it was recommended by a justice ministry panel last week and approved during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day.
Kim is a close associate of former President Moon Jae-in who was initially pardoned in December 2022 with five months left of his two-year prison term. The former governor was convicted of conducting an online opinion manipulation scheme to help get Moon elected in the 2017 presidential election.
At the time, however, Yoon did not reinstate the former governor’s civilian rights, banning him from running for public office until December 2027.
“I will think hard about the role I can play to be of help to our society,” Kim wrote on his Facebook page after the pardon was announced. “I will look back on the road I have taken and spend more time in reflection.”
Kim is currently studying in Germany, with plans to return home at the end of the year.
Reports that Kim will have his rights reinstated ahead of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day had rattled political circles, with ruling People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon expressing objections, citing the former governor’s lack of remorse for his actions.
Former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo (Yonhap)
Political watchers also speculated that Kim could use his restored rights to establish a new faction within the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which is currently dominated by members aligned with former party Chairman Lee Jae-myung. Lee is widely expected to win reelection for a second term at a national convention Sunday.
Lee welcomed Kim’s reinstatement in a Facebook post, saying he expects Kim to “play a bigger role for the people and for the DP.”
“As is known, I think there will be many people who find this hard to relate to,” PPP chief Han told reporters, referring to the pardon. “I won’t comment further as it has been decided.”
Special pardons are among the president’s inherent powers and have often been granted to convicted politicians, business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day to reward good behavior and foster national harmony.
A total of 1,219 people were chosen as beneficiaries Tuesday, including Cho Yoon-sun, Hyun Ki-hwan and An Chong-bum, all of whom served as senior presidential secretaries during the Park Geun-hye administration.
Cho served a 14-month prison term for blacklisting cultural figures critical of the Park administration and excluding them from government subsidies, while Hyun was convicted of illegally supporting conservative groups favorable to the administration.
An was jailed for pressuring large businesses to fund organizations implicated in a massive corruption scandal that ultimately forced President Park out of office.
Won Sei-hoon, a former spy chief under President Lee Myung-bak, was also pardoned after serving a prison term for operating an online opinion rigging campaign during his time as director of the National Intelligence Service.
“By granting pardons to those implicated in various (opinion) manipulation schemes across the political aisle, we intended to settle the political discord resulting from it and create an opportunity to move toward the future in unity,” Justice Minister Park Sung-jae said during a press briefing.
This was the fifth time Yoon has granted special pardons since taking office in May 2022. The pardons will be effective Thursday.
Justice Minister Park Sung-jae gives a press briefing on special presidential pardons granted on the occasion of Liberation Day at the government complex in Seoul on Aug. 13, 2024. (Yonhap)
hague@yna.co.kr
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